SFS Chapter 138 Confrontation
Chapter 138 Confrontation
The emperor looked grim. How could he not see the disapproving looks from the courtiers in the hall?
He even saw several imperial guards standing nearby who were about to step forward to advise him.
Even though this man had both legs crippled, these court officials still respected him greatly and were even willing to contradict the emperor for this!
He lowered his eyes to look at his son, frowning.
"Prince Xin's words were disrespectful to Prince Chen, so he should be punished. However, considering his own situation, the punishment has been changed. He should return to his own palace to reflect on himself and not go out for three months."
He turned to look at the worried queen, "The queen has failed to teach well. From tomorrow on, you will also reflect on yourself in the palace and are not allowed to go out. The harem will be temporarily handed over to Concubine Shu to take care of."
"Father, please calm down. My second brother doesn't often leave the palace. He offended Uncle Chen unintentionally today. It's his fault. As the eldest brother, I apologize for him. But mother has been taking care of the harem all year round, so naturally she doesn't have much time to visit him often. I hope that father can show mercy and reduce the punishment for her hard work all year round."
Prince Duan was the eldest son, so he naturally could not bear to see his mother and his brother being punished. Moreover, the Queen had lost her right to manage the harem, which was not a good thing for him, so he hurried forward to apologize.
But after hearing these words, Yu Tingwan just felt that it was no wonder that so many ministers in the court looked at Prince Hong differently, while Prince Duan, the eldest son, did not cause any trouble in the court.
Yu Tingwan had already seen through this play, and was afraid that it was designed by the emperor, firstly to disgust Shen Chenli and make him bear the reputation of being cruel and bloodthirsty.
The second reason was to take back the power of the harem and give it to Prince Hong's mother, Concubine Shu. I'm afraid the wind direction in the court will change again.
Therefore, Prince Duan's words did not help the Queen and Prince Xin, but instead played right into the Emperor's hands!
Sure enough, the emperor said calmly:
"You know that the Queen has a hard time managing the harem, and that she neglected to discipline Prince Xin because of managing the harem. So, isn't this lightening the Queen's burden?"
Prince Duan was stunned. What the emperor said seemed... to make some sense?
Things have become a foregone conclusion. When the Queen saw Prince Xin here, she had a premonition in her heart. As expected, the Emperor was really using Yue'er!
After being married for so many years, they finally reached this point!
The queen closed her eyes slightly and bowed.
"I obey the decree!"
Seeing that the Queen had acknowledged, the rest of the people did not dare to offend the Emperor again. The Emperor asked all the court officials to stand up, and the banquet officially began!
Prince Rui was sitting right opposite them. Yu Tingwan looked up and saw that he had only brought his princess back with him. Now sitting next to him was Shen Jingyi who had stayed in the capital. The prince had not returned to the capital!
"Do you know that this was a trap set by the emperor?"
Yu Tingwan sat next to Shen Chenli, watching him reach out and pick up a dish for her, then slowly said, "I know."
This answer made her frown, "I know you still..."
Shen Chenli looked at her with a trace of grievance on his face, "If the king wants the subject to die, the subject has to die, right?"
The corners of Yu Tingwan's mouth twitched. How could she not realize that Shen Chenli was such a loyal person?
Seeing her doubtful expression, Shen Chenli shook his head gently, "Wanwan, you have to know that if our emperor wants to do something, he will do it with all his efforts. Since he wants to ruin my reputation, let's give it a try and see if he can do what he wants!"
"You mean... the people in the court won't believe it? What about the common people?"
Since ancient times, common people have been the easiest to be deceived, simply because they have limited channels to know the truth of things, and they can only see what those in power want them to see.
This is not the modern era with developed information. Today's people can only listen to the information sent by their superiors. If they don't believe it once, they will believe it after many times and over time!
"All the people want is to live in peace. This king has been guarding the border for several years. Now he has returned to the capital with a great victory. The people are not fools."
Yu Tingwan nodded. Since these people didn’t succeed, she didn’t think too much about it. But the punishment should be given!
As the protagonist of the banquet, Prince Rui's every move naturally attracted much attention. However, although the emperor held a welcoming banquet for him, his recent series of actions gave people a clear indication that he did not take this matter to heart.
Even so, as the Chief Censor of the Censorate, he naturally could not pretend that this incident had never happened.
Therefore, not long after the banquet officially began, an imperial censor stood up.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say."
The singing and dancing gradually stopped.
The emperor cast an unhappy look at them, and the voices below gradually became quieter.
"What does Mr. Guo have to say?"
He thought that his unhappy expression would make this person back down, but unexpectedly, Censor Guo knelt directly in the hall, and the scene instantly became quiet.
Upon seeing this, Eunuch Cao quickly dismissed the bewildered singing girls standing aside.
The sonorous and powerful voice of Censor Guo rang out in the hall where one could hear a pin drop.
"Your Majesty, I would like to ask, how will Your Majesty deal with the matter of Prince Rui returning to the capital without permission and bringing 3,000 personal soldiers with him?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Tingwan suddenly looked in his direction, his eyes full of admiration.
Brave! This Censor Guo is truly a brave man!
Didn’t you see that the emperor’s face turned black?
The welcoming banquet has already been set up, what else can I do? I just don't plan to pursue it!
Yu Tingwan was simply amazed that he dared to bring up this matter at this time!
Yu Tingwan was just about to look away, deciding that it was none of her business, but she suddenly noticed another burning gaze staring at her, making it difficult for her to ignore it.
He looked over there with a frown on his face, and upon seeing this, Yu Tingwan's brows furrowed even more.
The owner of this gaze turned out to be Yu Xiuzhuo!
And when he saw that he was looking over, his worried eyes suddenly brightened up, and he even wanted to stand up excitedly!
"Your Majesty, my sudden return to the capital this time is indeed against the imperial order. However, I have my reasons and was forced to do so. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."
Prince Rui, the protagonist of the banquet, spoke. Everyone in the hall looked at him with different expressions. They really didn't know what reason could make him do such a thing that could be criticized as treason.
Apparently, Censor Guo also had such doubts, so he spoke up for everyone else in the hall!
"I really don't know why His Majesty could do such a thing?"
Prince Rui stood up and saluted the emperor, saying righteously:
"The tribute is coming soon. This year, all the neighboring countries will come. I naturally don't want to miss such a grand occasion."
Pooh!
A group of court officials who knew his character couldn't help but curse him in their hearts.
Stop pretending to be stupid. When have you ever come back to pay tribute in all these years? Just because Prince Chen defeated the Northern Di this year and the Northern Di are also coming to pay tribute this year, so you want to come back and take a look?
Even a three-year-old child wouldn’t believe this!
Naturally, these words could not be accepted by the group of court officials, let alone Censor Guo who proposed this matter?